Here's some of what you want to see in Samsung's next phone.

Samsung's Galaxy S IV reveal is now just days away. While leaks about Samsung's anticipated handset are abundant, nothing is set in stone until Samsung announces it on stage. On Friday, the Ars editors put together a wish list of half a dozen improvements that we hope Samsung makes to the phone. We also asked you what you wanted, and you responded loud and clear. Here are half a dozen recommendations from our esteemed Ars readership that Samsung could use to improve to its newest flagship phone.

1) Tone down TouchWiz

OEM-produced skins for Android can be a mixed bag. At their best, they can add features to Android that it doesn't yet include. At their worst, they replace perfectly good things from stock Android with versions that don't work as well. More than one of you wanted Samsung to use a lighter touch with its TouchWiz skin.

"Tone down Touchwiz and rip out much of what doesn't work," said Ars commenter dfavro. "Do an Apple and make this the 'refinement' generation. Get rid of Kies, Allshare Cast, S-voice, and all the Hubs that no one uses unless there's a legitimate improvement over stock. There are too many features on my [Galaxy] Note that seem, well, half-baked would be charitable."

Others would rather see TouchWiz excised entirely. "Android is coming along just fine without being whizzed up/on by Samsung," said ColinABQ. "They should just drop the whole TouchWiz act and go with stock Android, to the extent possible in any given hardware configuration. That would eliminate, solve, or reduce several problems, such as icon/menu placement and organization, and speed of updates. They could also reduce their own expenses in development and testing. Being the largest Android handset maker, a step away from their current role in fragmentation and update delays would do the entire Android ecosystem some good and might even encourage feature contributions to the (allegedly) open Android OS."

And finally, some would down steer a middle path, keeping some of Samsung's design touches as long as they are optional. "I can do my own customization to suit my own requirements a lot better than you can (although some customization help would be welcome, in the form of templates I can choose and modify)," wrote Postulator. "Basically, enable the user rather than trying to tell us how to use our device—that's what Android is made for."

2) Improved LTE (and thus, fewer international variants)

The Galaxy S III (and a pile of other smartphones) is available in several different hardware configurations depending on the country it was purchased in. The "international" version of the phone uses one of Samsung's Exynos 4 Quad chips, while the US version uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip. The variants also differ in what LTE bands they support. Some of you want to see Samsung simplify this product matrix and ship one configuration of the phone that works everywhere.

"I hope it drops with [Qualcomm's RF360] 40 band LTE chip so it can get LTE on any carrier around the world, and so there is only one (international) model of the phone, allowing all to be updated at the same time, without delays from the carrier," wrote Dark Laser. "A boy can dream…"

3) Better off-contract price

When Google and LG introduced the Nexus 4 with high-end hardware for $300 without a contract, some dared to hope. Perhaps the device would help shake up a market dominated by phones that sell for more than twice as much when not tied to a two-year carrier agreement. Sadly, this doesn't seem to be happening, but some of you haven't given up that dream.

"The number one thing I want to see is a $400 off-contract price," wrote Korgoth. "In a world where Google is speccing out high-end Nexus phones then releasing them off contract for under $400, why would I buy an S IV that is chained to a $90-a-month contract?"

4) Water resistance

You're not going to make it through life without introducing liquid to electronics that aren't equipped to handle liquid. It's a fact. Whether you've accidentally spilled your drink or dumped your phone into the toilet, accidents happen. So some of you want Samsung to follow what Sony has done with its Xperia Z: make a waterproof phone.

"All I want is a water-resistant phone with high-end specs," wrote mrbenstein. "I tried out the Samsung rugby smart last summer. You could use the phone underwater. Awesome! It would freeze up and require a battery pull to reboot when performing basic tasks. Not awesome. I don't care if it's a little thicker, just make me a good phone that is durable and water-resistant."

5) No more plastic

The plastic-versus-metal debate in smartphones can be almost as polarizing as the AMOLED-vs-IPS discussion—plastic can be done well and it makes for lightweight phones, but it is also prone to feeling creaky and cheap.

"I would like to see an aluminum body like the HTC One," wrote LMT. "That would be an automatic sale from me since I can't stand the HTC software."

Some of you are still fine with plastic, as long as it's high-quality plastic. "Use better materials like aluminum or steel for the band, ceramic or at least polycarbonate (not all plastics are polycarbonate) for the back," said spartak.

6) Yes to better battery life (but keep it replaceable)

Finally, one area where the staff and the readers were in universal agreement: most of you want the Galaxy S IV to have great battery life. Many of you even said that you'd gladly accept a little additional thickness to get it.

"I would like the standard battery to be roughly equivalent to what's now an extended battery," said Boksone. "Adding a few mm to the depth of the phone would not only be acceptable to me, but desirable. Most modern phones are actually too thin for comfort for me."

Others agree that battery life is very important, but they don't want it to come at the cost of having a removable battery. "My biggest request is for them to not to hop on the non-replaceable battery bandwagon," wrote hertzsae. "I don't care how big you make the battery. I love the fact that I can have an instantly charged phone by swapping it out. If they make a battery that lasts 10 days, I'll probably forget to charge and need the instant capacity that a battery swap gives me."

65 Reader Comments

If anything Samsung is going to double down on touchwiz. They're looking to expand out of the Android market and make their own OS, Tizen. From the developer builds I've seen, the interface is pretty much Touchwiz. I'm assuming their strategy going forward is to keep releasing Android phones with touchwiz and hoping that customers will feel comfortable enough to move to Tizen over time.

If anything Samsung is going to double down on touchwiz. They're looking to expand out of the Android market and make their own OS, Tizen. From the developer builds I've seen, the interface is pretty much Touchwiz. I'm assuming their strategy going forward is to keep releasing Android phones with touchwiz and hoping that customers will feel comfortable enough to move to Tizen over time.

If they offer to give me all my apps I purchased on Tizen for free, I would give it a look. I do not feel comfortable leaving behind money spent.

And as any new mobile OS, they have to offer the apps that a lot of people use already. If you do not offer that right away, you will be forgotten fast.

I'd like for phone companies to stop with the "bigger is better" when it comes to screen size. I've been sticking to my Nexus S and I'll keep it for sometime longer, it just seems like the right size (for me of course).

I wonder if they'll (all companies) ever release a new top of the line phone with Nexus S (or close enough) sized screen.

#1 - Even though I hate TW, most will argue that it's the only way Samsung differentiates from the competition. It does need a diet and complete makeover though because despite bringing a bunch of cool features to the table.. It still looks like crap.

#2 - Yes.

#3 - I believe that'd be a tough one. The Nexus 4 is cheap because Google wasn't looking for huge profits off the handset itself. They were looking for a way to lure a bunch of people into their ecosystem - plus, they did leave a bunch of stuff out to keep price down most people wouldn't be too happy with if they did the same with the s4. Lack of LTE and SD slot for example.

#4 - Would be cool as hell.

#5 - Yes please. It wouldn't necessary have to be aluminium. Better plastic quality could do the trick as well ( Lumia, One X, DNA anyone?) Either way beats the filmsy shinny weak sauce plastic they are using now though.

#6 - Meh make it last more than a work day and I'm a happy camper. Don't care for removable batteries.

I never understood the gripe against plastic. I'm going to put a case on it no matter what so it matters little whether it is plastic or metal. Really, for me, that's not a deciding factor.

Another 12 hours out of the battery would be nice. The S3 definitely had a better battery than my OG Incredible, but I'd still like to get back to the olden days when phones would last for days (plural) before you'd need a battery re-up.

Touchwiz isn't so bad, so long as you replace the actual launcher. I actually appreciate things like SMemo and the Samsung Calendar app. I'd like to see Samsung do what CleanRom did for TW, making it so that you can choose the apps you want.

Touchwiz criticism is overblown. No one actually says what they hate. Even the article here is vague. It's a set of customized stock apps and a launcher that are nearly all replaceable, along with a custom pull-down, lockscreen, and system menu. I'd love to see an actual debate on how it negatively affects someone's interactions with their phone. I've found some of the Samsung-specific customizations really useful - s-beam is far faster than the typical NFC share (uses wifi rather than bluetooth), the power saver works great, and things like the eye orientation and palm rub screenshot are just cool.

Plastic is also overblown. Maybe it was true on the original Galaxy line (hated my vibrant), but I think the S3 is terrific. It's light weight, but I still think it's a solid feel. I like it way better than the last couple HTC phones I've owned, and prefer it over the weight of the Nexus 4.

Price isn't going down. Nexus line was made to get android in as many people's hands as possible. Everyone else wants to make money.

Wait? Make a phone thicker? What are we? Cavemen? We might need to make the screen .0001" smaller so that it's actually usable! That would look bad on the spec sheet for people who have some superiority complex and feel the need to argue that their Samsung phone is superior in every way to someone else's HTC. No one actually needs battery life, we have access to wall plugs 24/7! And you know what? Forget people in other countries who might not actually have a plug available at the nearest coffee shop! Samsung doesn't need those people! We have the spec sheet superiority complex market instead which is much larger than those dumb international people. And just to drive that point home, we're going to release eight different Galaxy SIV phones this time, all for different regions. Heck, while we're at it, let's make the whole phone out of glass. Wait? Apple already did that? Screw it, we'll copy them. But make sure to throw on a bunch of that Touchy Wizard stuff. People love wizards. - Quoted from Samsung's Board of Directors

They have good *specs*, but TouchWiz is an abomination, and their phones are plastic-y junk.

In my opinion, Motorola is the only Android phone manufacturer that makes a high-quality product. The new Razr line is pretty nice.

That depends.

I didn't like the build quality on the GS3 at first. BUT I have had very good luck with the GS3, even after dropping it(although in a case and on carpet). It's easily the best Android I've owned, no lag and huge screen. I got a launcher to tone down Touchwiz but on Jelly Bean, Touchwiz seems a bit better so I use it again. I'm looking forward to the 4.

Samsung doesn't mess up their flagship items(both phones and tablets), unlike their lower end ones. They skimp on the lower end and it shows. The Intercept was terrible, I would agree on that! My Galaxy Tab 2 7.0(the budget tab) sometimes lags, and I bet the top of the line 10.1 and Note don't.

I'm with those who are OK with Touchwiz (or any OEM skin) where it adds something of value over stock android (e.g. the Mail app). Many of us use our phones for work, so have limited options in terms of what software can be used.

What does get on my nerves is the use of glossy plastic. A matte or soft-touch surface would be far more preferable.

So i've had 2 phones named starting with i and built by a company starting with A, one for 3 years and the other for 2 years. I have never opened them or felt the need to open them or to remove their battery. Even if i would (not probable for another 2 years) it would be two screws away, and about 2 minutes of work. Can you please explain why this obsession with removable batteries? (and the thickness added by the hardened battery+inner case+outer case)

I do not like the slippy fingerprint magnet plastic on Samsungs phones, but I much prefer good *grippy* plastic like on the Lumia phones to glass or aluminium.

Plastic done right is lighter, absorbs shock better, is grippier and more pleasant to hold than the alternatives. Sure, aluminium is "less cheap". But so is gold. That does not make it a better material for practical use.

They're looking to expand out of the Android market and make their own OS, Tizen.

Why? What's the upside for Samsung?

Amazon forked Android because the Kindle is merely a portal to their own substantial content offerings, and they wanted a way to keep those right at the forefront of the devices' experience. That's irrelevant to Samsung.

Tizen/Bada is a useful side-play that allows them options to develop phones for certain markets that won't compete with their expensive flagship devices in the West. But they only thing they would get from switching over entirely would be a load of headaches and lost customers.

Touchwiz criticism is overblown. No one actually says what they hate. Even the article here is vague. It's a set of customized stock apps and a launcher that are nearly all replaceable, along with a custom pull-down, lockscreen, and system menu. I'd love to see an actual debate on how it negatively affects someone's interactions with their phone.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't understand the "Touchwiz sucks" criticism specifically because nobody seems to explain which bits of it they don't like.

And by "get rid of Kies" I assume you mean the software on the PC? Because the Kies app on the phone is really useful for copying files across a LAN and works very well at that.

So i've had 2 phones named starting with i and built by a company starting with A, one for 3 years and the other for 2 years. I have never opened them or felt the need to open them or to remove their battery. Even if i would (not probable for another 2 years) it would be two screws away, and about 2 minutes of work. Can you please explain why this obsession with removable batteries? (and the thickness added by the hardened battery+inner case+outer case)

Galaxy S3 is 1mm thicker than the iphone and has a removable battery. I haven't needed one, but it's nice that I can get a spare for $10 on amazon and be able to swap out if I were to be a couple days away from a charger. For those who have such usage cases, it's a crucial feature. For you, I guess it wouldn't be. Having a removable battery doesn't necessitate a terrible phone design, though.

So i've had 2 phones named starting with i and built by a company starting with A, one for 3 years and the other for 2 years. I have never opened them or felt the need to open them or to remove their battery. Even if i would (not probable for another 2 years) it would be two screws away, and about 2 minutes of work. Can you please explain why this obsession with removable batteries? (and the thickness added by the hardened battery+inner case+outer case)

I'm a bit behind the curve with my GS2, but I replaced my battery when it started dying too fast. In fact, I replaced it with a bigger battery. It's nice to have that option without invalidating your warranty.

So i've had 2 phones named starting with i and built by a company starting with A, one for 3 years and the other for 2 years. I have never opened them or felt the need to open them or to remove their battery. Even if i would (not probable for another 2 years) it would be two screws away, and about 2 minutes of work. Can you please explain why this obsession with removable batteries? (and the thickness added by the hardened battery+inner case+outer case)

Here's one reason. Batteries eventually stop taking a charge. Non-replaceable means you must get another phone like the company would like you to. Most people aren't going to bother with battery replacement. But what if you old phone still works fine except for needing a new battery? Not everyone wants to change every 2 years.

I have iPhones too and they are still ticking. I have a solidly built iPhone 4 I use for an iPod touch. If it got a new battery after this one dies down, it'd still be good to go.

Galaxy S3 is 1mm thicker than the iphone and has a removable battery. I haven't needed one, but it's nice that I can get a spare for $10 on amazon and be able to swap out if I were to be a couple days away from a charger. For those who have such usage cases, it's a crucial feature. For you, I guess it wouldn't be. Having a removable battery doesn't necessitate a terrible phone design, though.

You can always carry a battery with USB ports. A bit bulkier but the advantage is that you can use it to charge other gadgets like tablets and other model phones.

I mostly agree with the list and the comments. The G3 is astonishingly light and thin in the hand without a case, to the point where you feel it must be fragile. There is ample room to expand the battery a smidge which would also help give the phone a more solid feel.

I third or fourth the motion to skip the glossy plastic in favor of something more tactile in the hand for increased user confidence.

As for Touchwiz, I don't mind it at all and it has some very nice features; some I use, some I don't. The "EZ" mode is the perfect transition for the non-tech savvy who still want a big screen and internet. I could do without some of the extra crap like AllCast. Refining and putting Touchwiz on a diet would make the phone much more attractive.

Also, I'd like to see it be less tall. The width isn't too bad, but the height is almost ludicrous.

Not sure why so many people hate plastic so much.Everything is made from the stuff.Welcome to the 20th century. (Let alone the 21st)

It's IDEAL for a cell phone case.Doesn't shatter like glass.Doesn't block your signal like metal.It's very inexpensive. Can be molded to countless shapes. (Far more than glass or metal ever could.)It's very strong and very durable.Wide spread availability.Can be made in 1000s of colors without worry about the "paint" ever scraping off.It's very lightweight.It can easily be made glossy or matte finish.Can easily be made smooth or rough. (and a thousand levels in between)Can easily maintain its shape when bent. (unlikely glass or metal)Can be made clear... just like glass.Can be made shiny reflective... just like metal.Can be made to feel horrible... or great in your hand.Can be made to NOT slip out of your hand.It can be drilled and mounted.It can be soft or hard.It can house an extended battery, that would be hard to do with glass.

Besides,If you put the phone in a case... you won't see or feel the plastic back anyway... ever.(You'll feel *YOUR* cheap plastic case choice, instead.)

I would like to see non propriety/cheaper solutions to connecting all Samsung devices to both a tv/monitor and a usb hub simultaneously. At present, Samsung sends to be "doing a Sony" by releasing phones that can only do both via their proprietary solutions, as as the allsharecast dongle (too laggy for games), the smart hub (99 dollars yet with no internal cpu to be used without a phone? Apple tv says "hi") and the upcoming new tv doo-hickey.

Also, Samsung should start to make gaming versions of either the s series or note phablet series, with dedicated hardware controller support, via built in controls or dedicated/official (but open to third party) gamepad/gamepad cases.

I had an S2 for a few months. Not a bad phone, but I wasn't ready to appreciate Android then. Now I have an LG-Nexus 4 and like most of it, but a few things are sorely missed. It would be nice if Samsung cloned the N4 and corrected these shortcomings.

1) Swapable batteries - on a 15 hr airplane ride, being able to swap batters 2-3 times in flight is nice. Games, music are a good time waster. Putting fresh batteries in on landing are a GOD - SEND.

2) MicroSD slot - I miss having this daily, constantly. Being able to swap in world maps or music or ebooks through a slot is sorely missed.

3) USB Host sharing. Because there is only 1 SD card inthe N4, only MTP or the photo sharing are possible.

4) If the choice is between less than 15 hrs of battery time and a slightly thicker device - make it thicker already.

5) I love the dual-mode GPS on the N4.

6) Cell Data means ZERO to me. Don't care. Don't plan to care ever. It is wifi data or nothing. However, lots of people will care. Select the fastest "standard" and have that, plus fallbacks to 3G and 2G data.

7) Usable IPv6 IPSec. Perhaps this exists already?

I'd love to have all the normal Linux tools pre-installed on the machine too. sshd, rsync, perl, python, bash ... we shouldn't have to root the device for these things to be available.

They have good *specs*, but TouchWiz is an abomination, and their phones are plastic-y junk.

In my opinion, Motorola is the only Android phone manufacturer that makes a high-quality product. The new Razr line is pretty nice.

Build-wise, my Razr HD is the nicest phone I've ever owned. When picking through handsets, it was the smallest 4.7" phone, yet the most solid feeling as well. The battery life is stupendous, I normally charge once every 2 days and have gone 3-4 before. The swipe right to quick settings is brilliant, the various pulsing light colours are great, the screen isn't too shabby (this is my first AMOLED phone, I love the blacks). The back of it is a great texture, grippy, doesn't show up finger prints or marks (although I have scratched it, without dropping it at all, so it's not omg invincible technologies).

But like everything, it's not all roses. The touchscreen isn't great. The camera was laughable with 4.0, slightly improved with 4.1 but way behind what most other companies offer. Despite being as close to stock Android as you get without buying a Nexus it's still laggy as hell (4.1 was a big improvement, but nothing like using the S3). I still can't understand why Android doesn't have a landscape homescreen (not sure if that's dealt with by any vendor, but my next phone I'll make sure it supports that). Ultimately, it's the user experience that matters most and Motorola still aren't there yet - that Google owns them and I've still got no idea if I'll get 4.2, let alone any future updates, is saddening too.

Galaxy S3 is 1mm thicker than the iphone and has a removable battery. I haven't needed one, but it's nice that I can get a spare for $10 on amazon and be able to swap out if I were to be a couple days away from a charger. For those who have such usage cases, it's a crucial feature. For you, I guess it wouldn't be. Having a removable battery doesn't necessitate a terrible phone design, though.

You can always carry a battery with USB ports. A bit bulkier but the advantage is that you can use it to charge other gadgets like tablets and other model phones.

But then you have to leave your phone plugged into the charger for hours which kind of sucks if it's in your pocket. A swapped battery is the equivalent to a phone that gets fully charged in the one minute it takes to swap the battery (assuming you are near the spare). Have you ever seen someone who is charging a close to dead phone while they need to get other things done. It's like they have this invisible chain that keeps bringing them back to their phone every 5 minutes.

For the young (or old) adults out there who sometimes don't make it home at night, it's really convenient to be able to get home in the morning, brush teeth, swap underwear and a cell battery and be out the door again in 5 minutes with a fully charged phone.

Anything that is light weight is fine by me for the case, I don't mind the feel, it's total weight that is important. I don't use a case because it adds too much weight. Had my Galaxy S since release and its still fine, never been in a case.

Battery: see weight above, but must last longer than a day and must be swappable. Life saver and makes traveling so much better.

#1 wish: largest screen you can fit with smallest borders on a Galaxy S / iPhone sized phone. Small phone, big screen please!

Wrong about plastic. I do want a plastic phone. Perhaps I would not mind aluminum either but i requires to much compromises:

* one have to buy a plastic case then* no NFC* no replaceable battery* no memory card* no wireless charging

The only phones on the market that have all the aforementioned features are plastic ones. And do not even start with me on the "smart" solution Apple has to use to make their antennas work - only because they wanted to use aluminum.

On screen buttons.Hardware buttons (outside power and vol) are stupid, capacitive are as well (but less so), and a mix of hw and capacitive is an abomination.Also, it would be cool if Samsung continued making their own version of the Nexus, even if it isn't Google's Nexus. They have to see there is demand for an AOSP phone and one model (out of the countless they have) with just AOSP would make a lot of customers happy. I know, not going to happen.

Oh... My poor Americans. You will never get the "international"(read original) version of SGS, because you have CDMA2000 to be supported by the device on Verizon and Sprint. You should understand that you are "special" in that area. No matter what LTE chip is inside, the "free market" has already failed you.

Touchwiz criticism is overblown. No one actually says what they hate. Even the article here is vague. It's a set of customized stock apps and a launcher that are nearly all replaceable, along with a custom pull-down, lockscreen, and system menu. I'd love to see an actual debate on how it negatively affects someone's interactions with their phone. I've found some of the Samsung-specific customizations really useful - s-beam is far faster than the typical NFC share (uses wifi rather than bluetooth), the power saver works great, and things like the eye orientation and palm rub screenshot are just cool.

For starters, it delays the update process to the newest Android version. Then, on tablets, at least the 10 inch ones, the notifications and pull down (or click to pull up?) menu is on the bottom, which is just not user friendly. Plain Android has it at the top where it should be, like even Samsung's own cell phones do because that's where it is useful. You don't get some of the UX features that come with the new OS version. People don't like that. You see the Google I/O presentation, get excited, and then realize your phone doesn't do those things because of TouchWiz and it's a sad day. Maybe nitpick if you want, but it bothers some people.

Not to mention that the North American versions of the S4 and GNote3 will both have crappy Snapdragon 600 quadcore processors instead of the spiffy Exynos 5 Octa eight core chips in the International version.

I have no idea why samsung keeps saddling us NA folks with shitty processors - had the same issue with the NA original Galaxy Note vs. the International version as well. Of course, this holds up updates, too - you'll notice that the International versions get updates very quickly, whereas the local versions are months to years behind.

I absolutely love my Note. I do. And I'd love a Note3, but quite frankly I'm just not willing to buy another crappy local version. Unfortunately, I can't justify buying an International version outright. With our wonderful Canadian carriers, I pay the same outrageous monthly rates regardless of whether or not I'm subsidizing a phone, so buying one outright means I'm essentially paying double for it.

I imagine I'm probably just going to go Nexus 5 instead, sadly enough, and if they keep the pricing comparable to the 4 it'll be a lot closer to paying the subsidized rates for a Note3... and offer largely instant updates to new Android versions and awesome custom roms (Paranoid Android! Yay!)